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Thread: Shop Lighting question

  1. #1

    Shop Lighting question

    I am remodeling our indoor pool room into my woodshop. It is about 40 x 50 ft. with 10-16ft ceiling. I need to add additional lighting. I was wondering if anyone has an opinion or experience using metal halide lighting in a woodshop?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Lowell,Michigan
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    372
    We had metal halide lighting in the factory I work in. Never did like it. Too many shadows. Not good color. Bothered my eyes.

    Recently they installed high output fluoescent llighting. I like it much better, however they still didn't put enough fixtures in. Sttill too many shadows.

    Advantages of high output fluorescent:
    1:cheaper to operate
    2:they maintain brightness over life of bulb. Metal halide get dimmer as their life goes.

    John

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    Monroe, MI
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    When we bought our house my shop with 12' ceiling had surplus warehouse fixtures. 10-16' is pretty low for that style fixtures. If you use fixtures that are designed for a higher ceiling, they give off really wierd shadows. They also take a long time to start up. I went with 8' fluorescent fixtures and couldn't be happier. I went with commercial quality fixtures rather than something from the BORG. The initial investment was pretty high but I've not had any failures after 6 years. Its getting close to time to think about re-lamping.


  4. #4
    Metal halide would be a poor choice for several reasons: cost, quality of illumination, noise, and hot restrike just to name a few. Cost in terms of initial installation cost, ongoing maintenance cost, and power cost. Due to the low ceiling height you will have to use lower wattage lamps, either 250 w if you can mount them at 14' or more, 175w or 100w at lower heights. These wattages tend to undergo violent end of life, or as the manufacturers phrase it, non-passive failure. The arc tube can shatter causing the outer envelope to break and scatter hot glass. Enclosed fixtures are required and they aren't cheap. Lamps cost several times as much as fluorescent lamps, and life is considerably shorter so relamping costs are higher. And these wattages aren't as efficient as fluorescent so power costs are higher.

    Metal halide lamps don't come back on immediately in the event there is a bump on the power system or you inadvertantly turn them off. They can take up to 20 minutes to restrike.

    I could give you more reasons why they are a poor choice if you still want them. Let me know.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
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    SF Bay Area, CA
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    T8s...don't look back.

    Instant on regardless of temperature.

    Quite...no buzzing.

    Cheap to buy...cheap to run...no heat...last a long time.
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

  6. #6
    MH would work if 1) had the right fixtures 2) got then cheap. The bad color statement is bogus, they are used for sports lighting & good color is a must for TV broadcasts Noise would depend on the fixture. High bay fixtures are designed for 20' & greater heights, low bay units are suitable for lower heights. Now for a few downsides, unless the MH ballasts are "pulse start" they will be down for 20 mins give or take in the event of a power failure, pulse start is quicker but your still in the dark for a while. If buying new fixtures I would look at T8 industrial or high bay's due to T5 & T8's being more efficient then the MH they are replacing + the advantage of instant on lighting.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    New Hill, NC
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    2,568
    I have a combination of low bay MH and T8's in the main room of my new shop. The main room is 50' x 60', with 15' 5" ceilings. The other rooms have T8's.

    I picked up the MH's used, approximately 1 year old, for 50 bucks a fixture. The T8's are 8', 4 bulb fixtures. There are ten fixtures mounted over my personal work area at 10', with 6500K bulbs. There are 5 T8's mounted to the ceiling with 5000K bulbs and on the same circuit as one string of MH's.

    Overall, I'm very pleased with the total lighting system. I have it set up so that if I'm working on assembly work, or using the TS, shaper, BS, jointer/planer, sanders or Festool stuff, I'm using the bank of ten T8's and the lighting is great. If I need to use any of the production equipment then I'm turning on the MH's.

    I have no complaints. The used MH's cost about the same as the new T8's (with bulbs), and I get much more lighting per fixture. Thus my capital costs going with the used MH's was significantly lower than the capital costs for the T8's. The tradeoff is a slightly increased operating cost.

  8. #8
    I would have to agree with T5's or T8's. I recently bought 10 commercial T12 fixtures off craigslist for a really good price so I couldn't pass it up.. Regarding the instant start advantage to T8's and T5's, I don't see the big advantage to having "instant start", once they turn on in a few seconds they remain on..

  9. #9
    I too am working on a new shop. I have sloped ceiling up to 19 feet at the peak. Does the higher ceilings mean I'll need more light fixtures if I use T8's?

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Gurney View Post
    I too am working on a new shop. I have sloped ceiling up to 19 feet at the peak. Does the higher ceilings mean I'll need more light fixtures if I use T8's?

    Higher ceilings mean more wall surface to absorb light so you may need more fixtures regardless of the light source. It shouldn't make much difference in a relatively small hobby type shop but if you are lighting a large industrial building it can be significant.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    Monroe, MI
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    Kevin, I'll give the same advise I've given before--take your plan to a local lighting store and let them run it through their design software and give you some recommendations. Mine didn't charge me for this service. They'll also carry better quality fixtures. Mine are still going strong, 7 years now, (and its still getting close to time to think about relamping.) By contrast I've replaced 3 of the cheap fixtures we bought for the basement.


  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Meiser View Post
    Kevin, I'll give the same advise I've given before--take your plan to a local lighting store and let them run it through their design software and give you some recommendations. Mine didn't charge me for this service. They'll also carry better quality fixtures. Mine are still going strong, 7 years now, (and its still getting close to time to think about relamping.) By contrast I've replaced 3 of the cheap fixtures we bought for the basement.
    I concur with Matt's recommendation. Also check with your local electric utility as some are offering significant rebates on high efficinecty lighting fixtures. We recently redid some factory lighting in an area that has 12' ceilings with high efficiency flourescent lighting and it is very bright (80 fc) and the fixtures make no noise at all. After working for years in a poorly lighted facility, employees were complaining at first about how bright it was. Now that they are used to it they like it. We have better lighting and use less power than we did with the T-12's we had before.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

    My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute

  13. #13
    Join Date
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    We have installed several T5's at work. Insanely bright and the color is pretty nice, at least IMO. I don't think I would like T5's in my shop. Too bright for the relatively low ceiling (8.5').
    Measure twice, cut three times, start over. Repeat as necessary.

  14. #14
    I work as an electrical contractor. We are removing MH lights everywhere and replacing with T8 flourescents. Why? MH are very expensive to operate, take for every to come on, generate lots of heat and are expensive to repair. If you lived close to me I could probable give you more than you would want. We still install a few MH lamps in some heavy industrial sites, but they are expensive new and have a long lead time. The trend makes me think that they will be obsolete in 10 years. T8 flourescent are the best way to go as others have stated. T5's are not worth the money unless you are using them for an aquarium in my opinion. In the shop you will still want at least a portable incandescent lamp, because it is good to see some shadows during finish sanding, IMO.

  15. #15
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    I agree T8's are the way to go, but please realize that flourescents, too, loose much of their lumen output over their lifespan.

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